1261 


Issued  June  21, 1910. 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


FARMERS’  BULLETIN  405. 


Experiment  Station  Work, 

LVII. 


Compiled  from  the  Publications  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations. 


A  PERFECT  STAND  OF  CORN. 
PROTECTION  OF  SEED  CORN. 
CLOVER-SEED  PRODUCTION. 
HOME-GROWN  FEEDS  FOR  HOGS. 


FLESHING  HORSES  FOR  MARKET. 
FERTILITY  AND  HATCHING  OF  EGGS. 
MARKETING  OF  EGGS. 

CEMENT  SILOS. 


MARCH,  1910. 


PREPARED  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 

TV .  C.  TRUE,  Director. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1910. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  : 

Alabama — 

College  Station :  Auburn;  J.  F. 
Duggar.® 

Canebrake  Station  :  Uniontown;  F. 
D.  Stevens.® 

Tuskegee  Station :  Tuskegee  Insti¬ 
tute;  G.  W.  Carver.® 

Alaska — Sitka:  C.  C.  Georgeson.6 
Arizona — Tucson:  R.  H.  Forbes.® 
Arkansas — Fayetteville:  C.  F.  Adams.® 
California — Berkeley:  E.  J.  Wickson.® 
Colorado — Fort  Collins:  L.  G.  Carpen¬ 
ter.® 

Connecticut — 

State  Station:  New  Haven;  E.  H. 
Jenkins.® 

Storrs  Station:  Stores;  L.  A.  Clin¬ 
ton.® 

Delaware — Newark:  Harry  Hayward.® 
Florida — Gainesville:  P.  H.  Rolfs.® 
Georgia — Experiment :  Martin  V.  Cal¬ 
vin.® 

Guam — Island  of  Guam:  J.  B.  Thomp¬ 
son.6 

Hawaii — 

Federal  Station :  Honolulu;  E.  V. 
Wilcox.6 

Sugar  Planters’  Station :  Hono¬ 
lulu;  C.  F.  Eckart.® 

Idaho — Moscow:  W.  L.  Carlyle.® 
Illinois — Urbana:  E.  Davenport.® 
Indiana — Lafayette:  A.  Goss.® 

Iowa — Ames:  C.  F.  Curtiss.® 

Kansas — Manhattan:  E.  H.  Webster.® 
Kentucky — Lexington:  M.  A.  Scovell.® 
Louisiana — 

State  Station :  Baton  Rouge . 

Sugar  Station  :  Audubon  Bark,  New 
Orleans. 

North  Louisiana  Station  :  Calhoun. 
Rice  Experiment  Station :  Crow¬ 
ley;  W.  R.  Dodson  ( Baton 
Rouge): ® 

Maine — Orono:  C.  D.  Woods.® 
Maryland — College  Bark:  H.  J.  Pat¬ 
terson.® 

Massachusetts  —  Amherst:  W.  P. 
Brooks.® 

Michigan — East  Lansing:  II.  S.  Shaw.® 
Minnesota — University  Farm,  St. 

Baul :  A.  F.  Woods.® 

Mississippi — Agricultural  College:  J. 
W.  Fox.® 

a  Director.  b  Special  agent 

405 

2 


(PERIMENT  STATIONS. 

Missouri — 

College  Station :  Columbia;  F.  B. 
Mum  ford.® 

Fruit  Station :  Mountain  Grove; 
P.  Evans.® 

Montana — Bozeman:  F.  B.  Linfield.® 
Nebraska — Lincoln:  E.  A.  Burnett.® 
Nevada — Reno:  J.  E.  Stubbs.® 

New  Hampshire — Durham:  W.  D. 
Gibbs.® 

New  Jersey — New  Brunswick:  E.  B. 
Voorliees.® 

New  Mexico — Agricultural  College:  L. 

Foster.® 

New  York — 

State  Station:  Geneva;  W.  H.  Jor¬ 
dan.® 

Cornell  Station:  Ithaca;  H.  J. 
Webber.® 

North  Carolina — 

College  Station :  West  Raleigh;  C. 
B.  Williams.® 

State  Station:  Raleigh;  B.  W.  Kil¬ 
gore.® 

North  Dakota — Agricultural  College: 
J.  H.  Worst.® 

Ohio — Wooster:  C.  E.  Thorne.® 
Oklahoma — Stillwater:  J.  A.  Craig.® 
Oregon — Corvallis:  J.  Withycombe.® 
Pen  n  s  yl  v  A  n  i  a — 

State  College:  T.  F.  Hunt.® 

State  College:  Institute  of  Animal 
Nutrition ;  H.  F.  Armsby.® 

Porto  Rico — Mayaguez:  D.  W.  May.6 
Rhode  Island — Kingston:  H.  J, 

Wheeler.® 

South  Carolina — Clemson  College:  J. 
N.  Harper.® 

South  Dakota — Brookings:  J.  W.  Wil¬ 
son.® 

Tennessee — Knoxville:  H.  A.  Morgan.® 
Texas — College  Station:  H.  LI.  Har¬ 
rington.® 

Utah — Logan:  E.  D.  Ball.® 

Vermont — Burlington:  J.  L.  Hills.® 
Virginia — 

Blacksburg :  S.  W.  Fletcher.® 
Norfolk:  Truck  Station,  T.  C. 
Johnson.® 

Washington  —  Bullman:  R.  W. 
Thatcher.® 

West  Virginia — Morgantown:  J.  H. 
Stewart.® 

Wisconsin — Madison:  H.  L.  Russell.® 
Wyoming — Laramie:  J.  D.  Towar.® 
i  charge.  rActing  director. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK. 

Edited  by  W.  Ii.  Beal  and  the  Staff  of  the  Experiment  Station  Record. 


Experiment  Station  Work  is  a  subseries  of  brief  popular  bulletins  compiled 
from  the  published  reports  of  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  and  kindred 
institutions  in  this  and  other  countries.  The  chief  object  of  these  publications 
is  to  disseminate  throughout  the  country  information  regarding  experiments  at 
the  different  experiment  stations,  and  thus  to  acquaint  farmers  in  a  general 
way  with  the  progress  of  agricultural  investigation  on  its  practical  side.  The 
results  herein  reported  should  for  the  most  part  be  regarded  as  tentative  and 
suggestive  rather  than  conclusive.  Further  experiments  may  modify  them,  and 
experience  alone  can  show  how  far  they  will  be  useful  in  actual  practice.  The 
work  of  the  stations  must  not  be  depended  upon  to  produce  “  rules  for  farm¬ 
ing.”  How  to  apply  the  results  of  experiments  to  his  own  conditions  will  ever 
remain  the  problem  of  the  individual  farmer. — A.  C.  True,  Director,  Office  of 
Experiment  Stations. 


CONTENTS  OF  NO.  LVII. 


Page. 


A  perfect  stand  of  corn .  5 

Protection  of  seed  corn  from  burrowing  animals .  8 

Clover-seed  production  in  the  Northwest .  9 


Supplementary  home-grown  feeds  for  hogs  in  the  South 

Fleshing  horses  for  market . 

Fertility  and  hatching  of  eggs . 

Marketing  of  eggs . . 

Cement  silos . 


405 


3 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Fig.  1.  Settingup  the  forms  for  the  construction  of  a  single-walled  silo .  22 

2.  Cross  section  of  wall  and  forms  of  double-walled  silo .  24 

3.  Details  of  construction  of  forms  for  double- walled  silo .  25 

4.  A  successful  cement-block  silo .  27 

5.  Cement  blocks  and  form  used  in  making  them . 28 

6.  Plans  and  elevation  of  form  for  making  cement  blocks .  28 

7.  Section  of  foundation  and  floor  of  thin  solid-block  silo .  29 

8.  Thin  solid  cement  block  for  silo  construction .  30 

9.  Section  of  silo  wall  showing  doorway,  brace,  and  hoop .  30 

10.  Door  used  in  silo  shown  in  figure  9 .  30 

11.  Silo  built  of  thin  cement  blocks  with  iron  hoops .  31 

12.  Section  of  silo  wall  showing  doorway  and  brace  and  frame  of  steel  and 

hoop .  31 

13.  Section  of  silo  foundation  with  floor  at  surface  of  ground .  32 

405 

4 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK/ 


A  PERFECT  STAND  OF  CORN.* * * 6 


A  perfect  stand  of  corn  is  that  which  produces  the  greatest  pos¬ 
sible  yield.  This  is  affected  by  the  number  of  stalks  and  their  ar¬ 
rangement  on  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Of  course,  a  perfect  stand  for 
one  soil  might  be  only  half  a  stand  for  another,  while  a  perfect  stand 
for  a  wet  season  might  be  too  thick  a  stand  for  the  same  soil  in  a  dry 
season.  However,  no  absolute  rules  can  be  laid  down  which  will 
enable  the  corn  grower  to  decide  how  far  apart  he  shall  make  his 
rows  or  how  thick  the  stalks  or  hills  shall  stand  in  the  row.  No 
one  can  foretell  what  the  season  will  be.  The  number  of  square  feet 
of  soil  required  to  support  a  hill  or  stalk  of  corn  varies  with  the  soil 
fertility,  cultivation,  rainfall,  and  other  seasonal  or  climatic  condi¬ 
tions,  the  variety  of  corn,  and  many  other  factors.  While  it  is 
probably  impossible  to  secure  a  perfectly  even  distribution  of  stalks 
or  hills,  recent  experiments  and  experience  combine  to  indicate  that 
each  stalk  or  hill  should  stand  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  center  of 
a  square  of  soil  from  which  it  draws  its  food.  The  size  of  this  square 
will,  of  course,  be  determined  by  the  distance  between  stalks  in  the  row 
and  between  rows.  What  this  distance  should  be  under  the  conditions 
existing  in  the  different  corn-growing  States  may  be  suggested,  if 
not  finally  determined,  by  the  tests  carried  on  in  the  different  States. 

At  the  Nebraska  Station  corn  grown  in  hills  44  inches  apart,  each 
way,  produced  the  highest  yield  of  grain  when  planted  at  the  rate 
of  4  kernels  per  hill,  but  5  kernels  produced  an  almost  equally  high 
yield  of  corn  and  a  slightly  greater  yield  of  stover.  Two  kernels 
per  hill  produced  the  largest  ears  and  1  kernel  per  hill  the  greatest 
number  of  2-eared  plants,  tillers,  and  ears  per  hundred  plants.  1  he 
percentage  of  barren  plants  increased  with  the  number  of  plants  per 
hill.  These  facts  sometimes  lead  seed  growers  to  plant  very  thinly 
in  the  hope  of  producing  very  large  ears  for  seed,  but  the  opposite 
practice  is  found  to  result  in  seed  having  the  greatest  producing 
power,  as  it  may  result  in  the  elimination  of  barren  plants  and  those 
that  do  not  produce  well  under  adverse  conditions.  Corn  grov  n 


a  A  progress  record  of  experimental  inquiries,  published  without  assumption 

of  responsibility  by  the  Department  for  the  correctness  of  the  facts  and  con¬ 

clusions  reported  by  the  stations. 

6  Compiled  from  Alabama  Sta.  Bui.  88 ;  Georgia  Sta.  Bui.  46 ;  Indiana  Sta. 
Bui.  55;  Kansas  Sta.  Bui.  45;  Louisiana  Stas.  Bui.  17  (2.  ser.)  ;  Maryland  Sta. 
Bui.  25;  Maine  Sta.  Rpt.  1895;  Missouri  Agr.  Col.  Bui.  32;  Nebraska  Sta.  Buis. 
91,  112;  Ohio  Sta.  Bui.  78;  Texas  Sta.  Bui.  49.  See  also  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farm¬ 


ers’  Bui.  360,  p.  5. 


405 


5 


6 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


at  three  rates,  namely,  at  1,  3,  and  5  plants  per  hill,  for  three  years 
showed  an  average  producing  power  of  3.6  bushels  more  for  the 
thickest  planting  than  for  the  thinnest. 

At  the  Kansas  Station  corn  was  grown  in  rows,  2,  2^,  3,  3J,  and  4 
feet  apart,  and  from  4  to  20  inches  apart  in  the  row ;  both  listed  and 
surface-planted  corn  were  tested  in  rows  3^  and  4  feet  apart,  but  all 
narrower  rows  were  surface  planted.  In  1893  both  listed  and  surface- 
planted  corn  gave  the  best  results  when  the  rows  were  4  feet  apart 
and  the  stalks  16  inches  apart,  while  in  1891  the  best  results  were 
obtained  when  rows  were  3^  feet  apart,  stalks  16  inches  apart. 

The  average  results  for  three  years’  work  at  the  Missouri  Station 
indicate  that  the  maximum  yields  from  corn  planted  in  hills  45  inches 
apart  each  way  was  obtained  from  planting  3  or  4  grains  per  hill, 
4.3  bushels  per  acre  less  being  secured  from  planting  2  grains  per  hill. 
Lower  yields  were  secured  in  hills  45  by  22^  or  45  by  15.  On  good 
land  the  largest  yield  of  70.4  bushels  per  acre  was  secured  by  leaving 
4  stalks  per  hill  in  hills  45  inches  apart  each  way,  while  on  poor  land 
the  largest  yield  of  36  bushels  per  acre  resulted  from  thinning  to  2 
stalks  per  hill.  Four  stalks  per  hill  gave  a  yield  of  6.6  bushels  less 
per  acre,  more  than  half  of  which  was  unmerchantable.  One  stalk 
per  hill  produced  almost  as  large  yield  on  poor  land  as  did  4,  and 
almost  every  ear  was  merchantable.  In  all  cases  the  thicker  the 
planting  the  larger  the  yield  of  stover  and  the  greater  the  proportion 
of  nubbins.  Eighty-five  per  cent  of  a  stand  produced  2^  bushels  per 
acre  more  grain  than  did  85  per  cent  of  a  stand  in  which  the  missing 
hills  were  replanted  and  12  bushels  more  than  when  the  entire  plat 
was  planted  over.  Ninety-four  per  cent  of  a  perfect  stand  produced 
2.2  bushels  per  acre  more  than  85  per  cent  of  a  perfect  stand. 

At  the  Ohio  Station  1  grain  every  12  inches  or  2  gains  every  24 
inches  produced  better  results  than  3  grains  every  36  inches  or  4 
grains  every  48  inches.  One  grain  every  18  inches  proved  insuffi¬ 
cient  to  secure  a  maximum  crop,  but  produced  the  largest  percentage 
of  ears.  Four  grains  every  42  inches  proved  entirely  too  thick  for 
best  results.  The  work  was  continued  for  three  years. 

Ten  years’  test  at  the  Indiana  Station  showed  that  in  seasonable 
years  the  yields  of  both  corn  and  stover  are  greater  from  thick  plant¬ 
ing,  but  that  in  the  very  dry  year  of  1894  the  yield  of  corn  was  less 
and  of  stover  greater  from  thick  planting. 

At  the  Maine  Station  1  acre  of  land  fertilized  with  10  2-horse  loads 
of  stable  manure  and  750  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizer  produced, 
respectively,  5,246,  5,390,  and  4,848  pounds  per  acre  of  dry  matter 
when  kernels  were  planted  6,  9,  and  12  inches  apart,  but  the  ears  were 
larger  when  the  planting  was  at  a  distance  of  9  and  12  inches. 

At  the  Louisiana  Station  stalks  18  inches  apart  in  5-foot  rows 
produced  the  largest  results,  although  a  closer  planting  might  have 

405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


7 


proved  more  profitable  during  a  more  favorable  season,  but  is  not 
recommended  as  a  general  practice. 

At  the  Alabama  Station,  on  poor  and  sandy  land  to  which  complete 
fertilizer  was  added  at  the  rate  of  320  pounds  per  acre,  the  yield  was 
largest  when  the  constant  area  devoted  to  each  plant  produced  was  a 
perfect  square  in  shape;  that  is,  when  15  square  feet  was  so  planted 
that  the  distance  in  the  drill  was  about  equal  to  the  distance  between 
rows.  The  highest  average  yield  for  two  years  resulted  from  single 
plants  3  feet  9  inches  apart  in  rows  4  feet  apart,  but  plants  3  feet 
apart  in  rows  5  feet  wide  were  more  cheaply  cultivated.  A  row  of 
cowpeas  should  be  planted  between  corn  rows  on  very  poor  land,  in 
which  case  the  corn  rows  should  be  at  least  5  feet  apart. 

At  the  Georgia  Station  ten  years’  experiments  indicated  that  land 
capable  of  producing  25  to  40  bushels  of  shelled  corn  per  acre 
should  be  so  planted  as  to  grow  3,630  plants  per  acre.  This  number 
may  be  secured  by  planting  32  inches  apart  in  44-foot  rows,  36 
inches  apart  in  4-foot  rows,  or  42  inches  apart  in  3J-foot  rows. 
Soil  capable  of  producing  15  to  25  bushels  per  acre  produces  its 
maximum  yield  when  16  square  feet  are  allowed  per  plant,  or  2,722 
plants  per  acre.  This  number  would  be  secured  by  planting  384  inches 
apart  in  5-foot  rows,  32  inches  apart  in  4J-foot  rows,  or  48  inches 
apart  in  4-foot  rows.  Soils  capable  of  producing  10  to  15  bushels  per 
acre  give  their  maximum  yield  when  18  to  24  square  feet  per  stalk  is 
allowed,  or  from  2,420  to  1,850  hills  to  the  acre.  Eighteen  square  feet 
per  stalk  may  be  secured  by  planting  36  inches  apart  in  6-foot  rows, 
or  43  inches  apart  in  5-foot  rows,  or  4  feet  3  inches  apart  each  way. 

At  the  Maryland  Station  the  narrower  rows  and  thinner  seedings 
gave  the  larger  returns  in  a  comparison  of  plantings  at  intervals  of 
15  inches  in  rows  3  feet  8  inches  apart  and  at  intervals  of  12  inches 
in  rows  5  feet  apart. 

At  the  Texas  Station  the  highest  average  yield  for  5  varieties  tested 
resulted  from  planting  4  feet  by  24  feet  apart,  while  the  planting  3 
feet  by  2J  feet  apart  stood  second,  5  by  3  third,  and  44  by  3  gave  the 
lowest  yields.  Golden  Beauty  and  Learning  produced  the  best  yields 
from  close  planting,  while  Thomas,  100-day  Bristol,  and  f  orsyth 
Favorite  did  best  in  4-foot  rows  planted  24  feet  apart  in  the  drill. 

The  increase  of  2.2  bushels  per  acre  which  the  work  at  the  Mis¬ 
souri  Station  indicated  would  result  from  improving  the  stand  from 
85  to  94  per  cent  of  a  perfect  stand  would,  if  secured  for  each  of  the 
108,771,000  acres  devoted  to  corn  crop  in  1909,  secure  an  increase  of 
$142,620,535.20  at  the  farm  value  of  59.6  cents  per  bushel.0  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  comparatively  few  fields  have  even  85  pci 
cent  of  a  perfect  stand.  In  view  of  the  opinion  of  prominent  authoi  i- 
ties  on  this  subject,  that  the  average  cornfield  has  not  over  66  pel 

aIJ.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Statis.  Crop  Reporter,  11  (1909),  No.  12,  Sup. 


405 


8  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 

cent  of  a  perfect  stand,  while  in  many  cases  the  percentage  is  less 
than  40,  it  is  difficult  to  compute  the  loss  resulting  to  the  corn  growers 
of  the  United  States  from  this  cause. 

PROTECTION  OF  SEED  CORN  FROM  BURROWING  ANIMALS.0 

T.  II.  Scheffer,  of  the  Kansas  Station,  has  tested  various  treatments 
of  seed  corn  to  protect  it  from  burrowing  animals.  He  finds  that — 

Kerosene,  crude  petroleum,  copperas,  crude  carbolic  acid,  fish  oil,  and  spirits 
of  camphor,  when  used  in  sufficient  quantity  or  strength  to  impart  an  odor  to 
the  corn,  seriously  injure  the  germinating  powers  of  the  grain.  To  treat  the 
seed  with  any  of  these  substances  in  such  small  quantity  or  dilute  form  as  not 
to  injure  the  germ  is  a  waste  of  time,  for  the  slight  taste  or  odor  imparted  is 
soon  dissipated  in  contact  with  the  soil. 

“  Mixing  pulverized  gum  camphor  with  the  dry  grain  and  storing 
it  in  a  closed  vessel  for  some  days  has  been  recommended  as  an  effi¬ 
cient  treatment,”  but  it  imparted  little  or  no  odor  to  the  grain  and 
gave  only  negative  results  in  the  Kansas  experiments.  Pine  tar  gave 
a  strong  odor  but  made  the  grain  too  sticky  to  work  in  a  planter. 

Of  the  substances  which  gave  promising  results — - 

Coal  tar  makes  an  ideal  coating  of  a  rich  brown  color  and  a  persistent  gassy 
smell.  It  dries  nicely,  is  not  in  the  least  sticky,  and  will  work  well  in  a  planter. 
Wet  the  grain  with  a  little  warm  water  before  stirring  in  the  tar.  A  teaspoon¬ 
ful  of  the  latter  will  be  sufficient  for  a  peck  of  corn.  The  mass  must  be  thor¬ 
oughly  mixed  and  then  dried  before  attempting  to  plant.  Soaking  corn  in 
strong  tobacco  decoction  for  a  few  hours,  or  simply  wetting  it  with  the  liquid, 
seems  to  promise  good  results.  Of  course,  the  grain  must  be  thoroughly  dried 
before  planting.  It  will  have  a  strong  odor  and  will  not  be  sticky. 

The  observations  of  the  Kansas  Station  indicate  that  field  mice  are 
the  chief  offenders  in  the  matter  of  destroying  seed  corn  and  that  moles 
rarely  or  never  do  any  damage  of  this  kind.  The  Bureau  of  Biologi¬ 
cal  Survey  of  this  Department  recommends  preventative  rather  than 
corrective  measures  in  dealing  with  field  mice.  Among  the  measures 
recommended  for  this  purpose  by  the  Survey  are  the  following: 

(1)  Protection  of  the  natural  enemies  of  field  mice,  particularly  owls,  most 
hawks,  shrikes,  snakes,  skunks,  badgers,  and  most  species  of  weasels. 

(2)  Elimination  of  the  breeding  grounds  of  field  mice  by  draining  swamps 
and  cleaning  waste  places  that  afford  the  animals  harborage. 

(3)  Periodic  plowing  of  grass  and  other  lands  for  the  rotation  of  crops. 

(4)  Clean  cultivation  of  corn  and  all  other  crops,  and  especially  of  orchards 
and  nurseries. 

(5)  Clean  mowing  of  grass  lands  and  permanent  meadows,  so  that  no  old 
grass  is  left  over  winter. 

(6)  Careful  burning  about  orchards  and  gardens  of  weeds,  trash,  and  litter 
of  all  kinds  that  may  serve  the  animals  for  winter  shelter. 

(7)  When  necessary,  the  burning  of  dead  grass  in  meadows  and  pastures. 
This,  however,  should  not  be  delayed  till  late  spring,  when  ground  birds  are 
nesting. 

°  Compiled  from  Kansas  Sta.  Circ.  1;  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Biol.  Survey  Bui.  31. 

405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


9 


Alfalfa  or  crushed  wheat  poisoned  with  strychnin  have  also  been 
successfully  used  by  the  Survey  in  destroying  the  mice.  The  details 
of  the  method  employed  are  given  in  the  Yearbook  of  the  Department 
for  1908,  page  431.  • 

CLOVER-SEED  PRODUCTION  IN  THE  NORTHWEST.® 

In  a  bulletin  of  the  Wisconsin  Station,  by  R.  A.  Moore  and  E.  J. 
Delwiche,  it  is  stated  that  no  crop  surpasses  clover  seed  as  a  source 
of  ready  money  in  northern  Wisconsin.  The  demand  for  it  is 
steadily  increasing  and  the  price  is  good.  Instead  of  depleting  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  clover  adds  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  loosens 
the  soil  to  considerable  depth  by  the  roots  which  it  sends  down  and 
which  leave  openings  through  the  soil  by  their  decay  after  the  death 
of  the  plant.  The  comparatively  large  value  in  a  small  bulk  of  clover 
seed  makes  it  an  especially  advantageous  crop  on  farms  at  a  consider¬ 
able  distance  from  market.  Several  hundred  dollars’  worth  of  clover 
seed  may  easily  be  delivered  in  a  single  load.  So  essential  is  it  in 
Wisconsin  and  other  localities  to  which  it  is  adapted  that  “  no  in¬ 
telligent  person  will  attempt  to  farm  without  it  in  the  crop  rotation.” 

Medium  red,  mammoth  red,  alsike,  and  white  clovers  are  the  varieties 
most  commonly  grown.  The  two  last  named  are  perennial.  The  first 
named  are  ordinarily  biennial,  but  the  winter  covering  of  snow,  abun¬ 
dant  moisture,  and  other  favorable  circumstances  tend  to  make  them 
more  perennial  in  practice,  and  crops  have  been  cut  for  several  years 
without  reseeding.  Red  clover  is  most  commonly  grown,  but  alsike  is 
frequently  resorted  to  when  the  land  is  too  wet  for  red  clover,  which  is 
usually  grown  on  loam,  hilly  or  rolling  clay  soil,  and  on  the  dark  wet 
land  of  the  brown  to  black  loam  type  found  in  the  Willamette  A  alley. 
Alsike  occupies  the  “  white  land  ”  and  “  mixed  land  ”  of  this  valley, 
as  well  as  the  overflow  land  along  some  of  the  water  courses. 

Red  clover  yields  from  4  to  6  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  in  the  V  il- 
lamette  Valley,  but  may  reach  9  bushels  on  the  better  soils,  during  a 
favorable  season.  Alsike  will  usually  make  a  little  higher  yield. 
On  the  poorest  soil,  the  u  white  land,”  on  which  red  clover  is  rarely 
produced,  alsike  yields  from  2  to  2J  bushels  of  seed  per  acre;  on 
u  mixed  land  ”  from  3  to  5  bushels,  while  the  best  dark,  waxy  over¬ 
flow  land  yields  from  6  to  1G  bushels  per  acre.  The  average  yield 
of  red  clover  seed  secured  on  thirteen  farms,  cooperating  with  the 
Wisconsin  Experiment  Station  was  2f  bushels  per  acre.  The  average 
yield  of  alsike  on  clay  soil  was  3.9G,  and  on  sandy  soil  1.78  bushels 
per  acre,  while  medium  red  clover  yielded  1  bushel  pei  <l(  u  on  (  he 
soil,  1£  bushels  on  sandy  soil,  and  mammoth  red  clover  yielded  in  the 
one  case  reported  1  bushel  per  acre  on  sandy  soil.  _ ^ 

“Compiled  from  Wisconsin  Sta.  Bui.  183;  U.  S.  Dept.  Agi.,  1>iu-  uf  1  laIlt 
Indus.  Circ.  28. 

42303— Bull.  405—10 - 2 


10  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 

Good  seed  on  a  fertile,  well-prepared  soil  is  the  first  essential  to 
clover-seed  production.  No  seed  should  be  sown  which  contains  the 
seeds  of  obnoxious  weeds.  Reliable  seedsmen  are  willing  to  furnish 
samples  and  the  state  experiment  stations  will  usually  test  such 
samples.  In  some  States  the  buyer  has  a  legal  right  to  demand  that 
the  seed  presented  for  sale  bear  tags,  stating  its  purity  and  germi¬ 
nation  tests.  If  not  so  labeled,  however,  he  can  easily  make  a  ger¬ 
mination  test  for  himself.  This  is  a  very  necessary  precaution, 
because  it  is  impossible  to  determine  by  the  eye  whether  or  not  clover 
seed  will  grow.  Many  failures  to  obtain  a  good  stand  are  traceable 
to  sowing  of  seed,  which  looked  good  but  showed  a  germination  test 
of  80  per  cent  or  less. 

A  simple  seed  tester  may  be  made  with  a  tin  plate  and  two  circular 
pads  fitted  in  it.  The  pads  may  be  made  of  cotton  flannel  and  should 
be  soaked  in  water,  squeezed  to  remove  any  undue  amount  of  mois¬ 
ture  and  kept  moist  throughout  the  test  by  sprinkling  from  time  to 
time.  One  hundred  seeds  from  the  sample  to  be  tested  should  be 
counted  out,  placed  between  the  pads,  and  kept  at  ordinary  room  tem¬ 
perature.  The  seeds  of  high  vitality  will  show  vigorous  sprouts  at 
the  end  of  four  days  and  may  be  removed,  while  the  unsprouted  seeds 
are  left  for  two  days  longer.  The  total  number  of  seeds  that  have 
sprouted  by  that  time  will  give  the  germination  test  of  the  sample 
in  percentage.  A  sample  testing  under  80  per  cent  should  be 
regarded  with  suspicion  and  rejected  if  better  seed  is  available,  or 
bought  at  a  lower  price  and  sown  at  a  higher  rate  per  acre  if  it 
must  be  used.  Seed  that  is  stuck  together  by  honey  dew,  a  sticky 
substance  secreted  by  aphids  or  plant  lice,  passes  over  the  riddles  of 
the  fanning  mill  or  other  cleaner  with  the  coarse  trash.  It  may  be 
recovered  by  putting  the  trash  and  seed  into  water,  where  the  honev- 
dew  very  quickly  dissolves.  Seed  and  trash  may  then  be  dried  and 
separated  as  usual  in  a  fanning  mill. 

Other  insect  pests  affecting  clover-seed  production  are  the  clover- 
root  borer,  which  can  travel  from  field  to  field  only  during  early 
summer,  and  may  be  held  in  check  by  fallowing  for  a  short  period, 
and  the  clover-seed  chalcis,  which  may  inhabit  the  head  of  the  clover 
and  eat  out  the  inner  portion  of  the  seed,  and  may  be  held  in  check 
by  burning  the  clover  heads  affected.  A  third  species,  the  clover- 
flower  midge,  lays  eggs  which  produce  a  larva  or  maggot  in  the 
blossom  of  the  red  clover,  thus  preventing  seed  production.  Where 
clover  is  grown  alone,  as  it  would  be  for  seed,  the  first  crop  may  be 
cut  sufficiently  early  to  hasten  the  second  blossoming  to  such  extent 
that  it  has  advanced  beyond  danger  from  maggots  before  the  second 
or  fall  brood  of  midges  appears.® 

°  For  further  information  on  insects  affecting  clover,  see  TJ.  S.  Dept.  Agr., 
Bur.  Pint.  Bui.  85,  Pt.  Ill ;  Circs.  67  and  69.  See  also  Michigan  Sta.  Bui.  259. 

405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


11 


If  the  soil  has  been  exhausted  by  continuous  cropping  with  small 
grains,  it  is  well  to  restore  it  by  seeding  to  vetch  for  two  seasons 
preceding  sowing  to  clover.  The  methods  of  seeding  to  clover  vary 
almost  as  widely  as  do  soil  and  climatic  conditions.  In  the  Willa¬ 
mette  Valley,  the  principal  methods  of  securing  a  stand  are  by  sew¬ 
ing  alone  or  with  rape  during  May  or  June;  by  sowing  alone  in  the 
stubble  in  the  early  fall;  by  sowing  in  February,  March,  or  April 
with  spring  grain  or  in  winter  wheat ;  and  by  sowing  after  summer 
fallow. 

On  “  white  land  ”  the  sowing  of  red  clover,  if  attempted,  should 
be  preceded  by  tile  drainage  and  liberal  application  of  barnyard 
manure.  If  sown  with  rape,  this  crop  may  be  killed  by  pasturing 
with  sheep  or  swine  during  the  late  fall  or  in  the  early  spring.  Seed¬ 
ing  is  usually  at  the  rate  of  from  1  to  3  pounds  of  rape  and  5  pounds 
of  alsike,  or  8  to  10  pounds  of  red  clover  per  acre.  The  soil  should 
be  plowed  in  the  spring  and  kept  well  cultivated  until  seeding  time 
to  conserve  the  moisture  and  destroy  all  weeds.  Fall  plowing  can 
not  be  substituted  for  spring  plowing  on  many  soils,  as  the  soil  par¬ 
ticles  run  together  during  the  winter  and  a  hard  seed  bed  would  be 
presented  in  the  spring. 

The  practice  of  sowing  clover  alone  on  stubble  land  is  becoming 
popular.  Late  spring  plowing  leaves  the  land  in  better  condition 
for  such  sowing  than  earlier  spring  plowing,  packed  by  the  spring 
rains.  The  seed  may  be  harrowed  in  or  left  unprotected,  save  by  the 
stubble,  which  is  usually  left  fairly  long  for  protection  against  the 
sun  and  aids  in  the  prevention  of  heaving  in  winter.  Rich  land 
which  has  successfully  grown  clover  may  be  seeded  with  good  results 
in  the  early  spring  with  oats  or  wheat  as  a  nurse  crop,  if  the  seed  bed 
is  properly  prepared.  An  application  of  land  plaster  in  early  spring 
is  recommended  for  clover  sown  in  the  stubble.  Thirty  to  40  pounds 
per  acre  acts  as  a  powerful  stimulant  if  applied  at  seeding  time  or 
after  the  young  clover  has  leafed  out.  Fifty  to  100  pounds  per  acre 
is  applied  for  the  production  of  a  hay  crop  and  is  advised  by  some 
for  a  seed  crop,  although  usually  regarded  as  likely  to  produce  too 
much  straw.  It  may  be  applied  by  the  methods  outlined  in  Circular 
22  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  United  States  Department 


of  Agriculture. 

When  clover  is  sown  in  February  or  March  in  winter  wheat,  the 
grain  is  frequently  cut  as  high  as  possible  to  leave  abundant  stubble 
for  the  winter  protection  of  the  clover  as  well  as  against  the  hot  rays 
of  the  sun  during  its  first  summer.  An  imperfect  stand  of  clover  may 
be  remedied  by  a  fall  sowing  in  the  stubble. 

Summer  fallowing  is  resorted  to  for  the  eradication  of  sorrel, 
French  pink  or  other  weeds,  or  in  case  the  fertility  of  the  soil  lias  been 
depleted  by  continuous  cropping  with  wheat  and  oats.  Moisture  is 

405 


12 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


accumulated,  the  soil  is  put  into  a  good  mellow  condition  and  bacte¬ 
rial  action  stimulated  to  render  plant  food  available  for  the  clover. 
Eight  to  10  pounds  of  red  clover  or  5  pounds  of  alsike  per  acre  are 
sown  after  the  drilling  of  wheat  or  oats,  or  the  clover  may  be  sown 
with  a  bushel  of  vetch  per  acre.  Should  the  seed  start  poorly,  more 
may  be  sown  during  February  or  March. 

On  sandy  soils  about  15  pounds  of  clover  per  acre  should  be  sown 
and  covered  over  1  or  2  inches  to  avoid  danger  from  drought  and 
drifting  sand.  Should  the  season  be  dry,  oats  used  as  a  nurse  crop 
should  be  cut  for  hay  before  ripening.  Barley  does  not  require  as 
much  water  for  its  maturity  as  oats  and  is  therefore  preferable  as  a 
nurse  crop.  A  roller  should  be  used  in  preparing  the  land,  as  clover 
frequently  fails  to  germinate  when  sown  on  a  very  loose  soil.  A  light 
dressing  of  manure  thoroughly  worked  into  the  plowed  land  adds 
humus  to  the  soil.  If  from  animals  fed  on  clover,  it  serves  to  inocu¬ 
late  the  soil  with  the  proper  bacteria.  This  is  especially  necessary  on 
land  which  has  never  grown  clover  and  which  is  therefore  probably 
not  inoculated.  Other  means  of  inoculating  the  soil  or  seed  is  by 
spreading  over  the  field  a  few  wagon  loads  of  surface  soil  from  a 
good  clover  field  or  using  the  pure  cultures  distributed  by  this  De¬ 
partment.  In  any  case,  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  weed  seed 
is  not  applied  to  the  land,  as  it  is  especially  important  to  keep  the 
land  free  of  weeds  where  clover  seed  production  is  the  principal 
purpose. 

Although  alsike  and  mammoth  clover  produce  but  one  crop  a  year, 
they  are  sometimes  clipped  back  during  the  first  week  in  June  for 
the  sake  of  increasing  the  seed  yield,  but  this  is  not  the  usual  practice. 
Mammoth  and  medium  red  clovers,  however,  usually  produce  two 
crops,  the  second  of  which  contains  the  seed.  The  first  crop  may  be 
cut  for  hay  before  June  20,  or  when  the  clover  is  about  40  to  50  per 
cent  in  blossom,  pastured  until  June  10,  or  clipped  and  allowed  to 
remain  on  the  land  to  maintain  the  soil  fertility.  Experiments  at 
three  points  in  Wisconsin  indicate  that  late  cutting  produces  an 
average  yield  of  two-fifths  of  a  bushel  per  acre  more  of  seed  than 
clipping,  as  well  as  14  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  The  poorer  the  soil 
or  the  drier  the  season,  the  earlier  the  clipping  should  take  place  or 
the  grazing  be  stopped. 

Clover  should  not  be  harvested  for  seed  until  the  heads  are  nearly 
all  ripe.  Earlier  cutting  checks  the  growth  of  the  seed,  leaving  it 
small  and  shriveled,  while  late  cutting  wastes  much  seed  through 
breaking  off  or  shattering  the  heads  in  handling.  Cutting  may  be 
done  with  a  mower  with  a  bunching  attachment,  or  that  portion  of 
the  buncher  which  is  tripped  with  the  foot  may  be  taken  off  and  the 
sickle  bar  attachment,  known  as  a  “  swather,”  left  to  turn  the  swath 
into  a  roll  immediately  behind  the  mower.  The  self-reaper  is  prob- 

405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


13 


ably  the  more  satisfactory  machine,  as  it  may  be  made  to  cut  the 
clover  as  close  to  the  ground  as  the  mower  in  case  it  has  gone  down, 
or,  if  it  stands  well,  the  reaper  may  be  made  to  cut  it  much  higher, 
and  thus  save  handling  a  large  amount  of  straw.  If  carefully  driven 
the  reaper  drops  the  bunches  with  the  heads  properly  turned  up  to 
the  sun  and  wind  and  in  convenient  shape  for  hauling  to  the  huller 
in  tight-bottomed  racks  six  or  eight  days  after  it  is  cut. 

Light  showers  on  these  bunches  as  they  lie  in  the  field  are  said  to 
make  the  hulling  easier,  although  heavier  rains  necessitate  turning 
the  bunches  to  facilitate  drying.  If  not  hulled  immediately,  the 
clover  should  be  carefully  stored  on  a  tight  floor,  which  will  prevent 
the  loss  of  heads  broken  off  in  handling,  or  carefully  stacked  and 
covered  with  boards,  canvas,  or  marsh  hay,  which  will  shed  the  water 
in  good  shape. 

Estimating  the  value  of  the  hay  at  $10  per  ton  and  seed  at  $G  per 
bushel,  a  return  of  $50  per  acre  is  sometimes  secured  in  addition  to 
the  strjiw  left  after  hulling,  which  is  a  valuable  feed.  The  return 
secured,  whether  large  or  small,  need  not  be  at  the  expense  of  the 
fertility  of  the  land.  The  effect  of  growing  clover  seed  in  connection 
with  live  stock  production  is  well  illustrated  by  the  experience  on 
farms  in  three  counties  of  the  Willamette  Valley.  On  a  Benton 
County  farm,  winter  wheat  in  which  red  clover  was  sown  in  Febru¬ 
ary  or  March  yielded  7  bushels  of  wheat  in  1905,  while  the  clover 
made  a  good  stand  and  in  1906  yielded  5  bushels  of  seed  per  acre,  but 
in  1907  was  clipped  too  late  and  yielded  only  1  bushel  per  acre,  but 
in  1908  yielded  70  bushels  of  oats  per  acre.  A  60-acre  field  in  Yam¬ 
hill  County,  Oreg.,  produced  in  1901  18  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre; 
in  1902,  1903,  and  1904,  7,  6,  and  4  bushels,  respectively,  of  clover 
seed;  in  1905,  80  bushels  of  oats;  in  1906,  30  bushels  of  wheat;  in 
1907,  4  bushels  of  clover  seed.  A  40-acre  field  in  the  same  county 
produced,  in  1903,  17  bushels  of  wheat;  in  1904  and  1905,  6  and  6J 
bushels  of  clover  seed,  respectively;  in  1906,  65  bushels  of  oats;  and  in 
1907,  27  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  In  Linn  County,  a  14-acre  field 
of  u  mixed  land,”  seeded  to  clover  alone  in  June,  1906,  pastured  in 
late  summer  and  fall,  produced  5^  bushels  of  seed  in  190*  and  38 
bushels  of  oats  in  1908,  although  a  similar  field  of  oats  just  across  the 
fence  made  only  25  bushels  per  acre.  The  owner  of  this  crop  reports 
that  the  land  is  much  more  mellow  and  light  than  when  plowed  after 
the  first  seeding.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  nitrogen  added  by  clover 
crops,  together  with  the  physical  effects  upon  the  soil  of  the  roots 
and  the  droppings  from  the  animals  pastured  upQn  the  clover,  have 
left  these  three  fields  in  a  much  better  condition  than  they  were  at 
the  beginning  of  the  rotation. 


405 


14 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  HOME-GROWN  FEEDS  FOR  HOGS  IN  THE 

SOUTH.0 

P.  N.  Flint,  of  the  Georgia  Experiment  Station,  maintains  that  in 
view  of  the  increasing  price  of  commercial  feeds  more  home-grown 
feeds  must  be  used  in  order  “to  make  money  in  growing  swine.”  He 
insists  that  more  attention  should  be  given  in  the  South  to  the  grow¬ 
ing  of  the  more  concentrated  feeds  like  soy  beans,  Spanish  peanuts, 
cowpeas,  and  corn  as  hog  feed,  and  he  reports  experiments  which 
show  “  that  pork  can  be  produced  more  cheaply  when  soy  beans, 
Spanish  peanuts,  and  skim  milk  are  made  a  part  of  the  ration,  than 
when  corn  and  shorts  alone  are  fed.” 

One  lot  of  pigs  of  an  average  weight  of  about  77  pounds  was  fed  at 
the  beginning  of  the  experiment  “  3.3  pounds  of  corn  and  shorts — equal 
parts  by  weight — per  pig.  The  ration  was  gradually  increased  until 
toward  the  end  of  the  experiment  they  were  consuming  5.3  pounds  per 
pig  of  corn  only.  No  shorts  were  fed  during  the  last  forty-eight  days. 

“  In  the  case  of  [a  second  lot] ,  at  the  beginning  of  the  experiment, 
one-half  as  much  corn  as  of  skim  milk  was  fed,  namely,  2.3  pounds 
corn  and  4.6  pounds  skim  milk  per  pig  daily.  As  the  experiment  pro¬ 
gressed,  the  proportion  of  skim  milk  to  corn  was  gradually  made 
smaller,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the  experiment  5  pounds 
corn  and  6.7  pounds  skim  milk  per  pig  were  fed.” 

Two  other  lots  were  fed  the  same  quantity  of  corn,  but  one  con¬ 
sumed  1  acre  of  soy  beans  and  the  other  1  acre  of  Spanish  pea¬ 
nuts.  Early  and  late  varieties  of  soy  beans  were  planted,  one-fourth 
acre  to  the  early  variety  and  three-fourths  acre  to  the  late  variety. 
When  feeding  of  the  early  variety  was  begun,  July  12,  the  beans 
were  well  developed,  but  far  removed  from  being  ripe. 

“  The  early  variety  of  the  beans  showed  smaller  stalks  and  fewer 
leaves  than  the  late  variety.  The  early  variety  was  ripe  a  week 
previous  to  the  time  it  was  consumed.” 

When  feeding  of  the  late  variety  was  begun,  August  1,  the  pods 
had  just  made  their  appearance,  so  that  during  that  time  the  pigs 
consumed  largely  leaves  and  stalks. 

By  September  1,  the  beans  of  this  variety  were  in  the  dough  stage  and  were 
ripe  two  weeks  previous  to  the  close  of  the  experiment,  September  29.  During 
the  period  the  pigs  were  consuming  largely  leaves  and  stalks,  a  larger  quantity 
of  corn  was  fed  than  during  the  last  four  weeks  of  the  experiment,  when  there 
was  a  plentiful  supply  of  matured  beans  in  the  pods.  In  fact,  during  the  last 
two  weeks,  the  pigs  were  fed  but  1  pound  per  head  of  corn  daily,  but  were 
given  all  of  the  beans  they  would  clean  up.  This  was  done  in  order  to  dis¬ 
pose  of  the  beans  before  ripening  and  casting  their  seed.  Owing  to  the  dry 
weather  during  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  the  beans  did  not  bear  a  full 
crop. 


405 


a  Compiled  from  Georgia  Sta.  Bui.  87. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII.  15 

When  feeding  of  the  peanuts  was  begun,  July  12,  they  were  not  yet 
through  blossoming,  but  many  pods  had  formed  and  contained  well- 
developed  seed. 

As  with  the  soy  beans,  a  greater  quantity  of  corn  was  fed  during  the  early 
part  of  the  experiment  while  the  peanuts  were  developing  than  during  the  latter 
part  after  the  peanuts  had  matured.  By  the  middle  of  August,  the  pigs,  both  in 
the  peanut  and  the  soy  bean  lot,  were  consuming  3  pounds  of  corn  per  pig 
daily  and  a  light  ration  of  soy  beans  and  peanuts,  while  by  the  middle  of  Sep¬ 
tember  they  were  consuming  but  1  pound  of  corn,  and  a  heavy  ration  of  soy 
beans  and  peanuts.  The  peanuts  were  well  matured  by  the  first  of  September. 
The  drought  did  not  injure  the  peanuts  as  much  as  it  did  the  soy  beans,  hence 
in  this  experiment  the  peanuts  had  the  better  showing. 

Both  the  peanuts  and  the  soy  beans  were  hauled  to  the  pigs  daily,  as  it  was 
not  feasible  to  fence  the  areas  for  pastures.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  it 
would  be  better  to  allow  the  pigs  to  gather  the  feed  themselves,  thus  saving  the 
expense  of  cutting,  or  pulling  and  hauling. 

Except  during  the  first  thirty-one  days  of  the  experiment,  the  corn  for  all  the 
lots  was  soaked  in  water  from  one  feeding  to  another. 

A  mixture  of  charcoal,  wood  ashes,  lime,  salt,  and  copperas  was  constantly 
kept  before  each  lot.  They  had  access  to  hydrant  water  continually.  They 
were  kept  in  dry  lots  20  feet  by  64  feet. 

Professor  Flint  discusses  the  relative  merits  of  the  different  supple¬ 
mentary  feeds  and  the  practical  methods  of  using  them  as  follows: 

Soy  beans. — The  soy  bean  makes  a  very  good  feed  to  combine  with  corn 
because  it  is  rich  in  protein,  in  which  corn  is  deficient.  It  is  especially  good 
for  growing  and  breeding  swine.  Hogs  will  eat  practically  the  whole  plant 
when  it  is  young  and  tender.  The  stems  are  not  eaten  so  well  after  they 
become  coarse. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  soy  beans,  and  by  selecting  early,  medium,  and 
late  varieties,  or  by  planting  the  early  or  medium  varieties  a  couple  of  weeks 
apart  throughout  the  season,  one  planting  will  be  sufficiently  matured  by  the 
time  the  other  is  consumed.  The  hogs  should  be  turned  into  the  pasture  when 
the  first  pods  begin  to  ripen.  Usually  the  soy  bean  has  a  more  upright  growth 
than  the  cowpea.  It  is  richer  in  protein  and,  in  some  respects,  a  heavier 
yielder,  which  makes  it  more  valuable  as  a  hog  feed. 

The  soy  bean  should  be  planted  in  rows  about  30  inches  apart,  and  at  the 
rate  of  3  pecks  per  acre.  If  the  land  is  poor,  200  to  300  pounds  of  acid 
phosphate  and  25  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash,  in  addition  to  stable  manure, 
should  be  applied.  Lime  is  also  beneficial. 

Spanish  peanuts. — Spanish  peanuts  do  best  on  sandy,  loamy  soil,  but  may  be 
grown  under  a  wide  range  of  conditions.  The  land  must  be  well  limed,  since 

they  do  not  thrive  well  on  land  that  is  sour. 

Spanish  peanuts  will  mature  in  about  ninety  days,  and  as  they  will  icinain 
in  the  ground  a  long  time  they  will  have  a  long  grazing  period. 

Stable  manure  produces  abnormal  tops  and  should  not  be  applied  in  'seiy 
great  amounts  unless  it  be  the  previous  year  to  some  other  cr  op.  Ordinarily, 
200  pounds  of  acid  phosphate,  100  pounds  of  kainit,  and  1,000  pounds  of  an 

slaked  lime  per  acre  will  give  good  results. 

They  should  not  be  planted  until  the  land  has  become  thoroughly  warm, 
is  best  to  plant  them  in  rows  about  30  inches  apart  and  7  to  9  inches 
drill;  the  seed  should  be  sown  about  2  inches  deep.  At  the  last  culthatron, 

405 


16  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 

soil  should  be  thrown  toward  the  rows.  They  should  not  be  cultivated  after 
the  pods  begin  to  form. 

It  is  possible  to  plant  a  sufficiently  early  variety  of  soy  beans  that  will  come 
on  before  the  peanuts  are  ready  for  feeding. 

By  growing  soy  beans,  x>eanuts,  and  corn  with  which  to  fatten  the  hogs  in 
late  summer,  and  by  providing  rye,  oats,  and  vetch,  or  alfalfa  pasture  during 
the  winter  and  spring  for  the  brood  sows  and  young  pigs,  one  will  have  the 
food  problem  admirably  in  hand. 

Skim  milk. — Skim  milk,  combined  with  shorts  or  corn,  can  not  be  excelled  for 
growing  pigs  and  mature  breeding  stock.  Combined  with  corn,  for  fattening 
hogs,  excellent  gains  in  weight  are  made,  being  greater  than  is  possible  with 
corn  only. 

A  circular  of  this  Department  dealing  with  hog  raising  in  the 
South/1  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  feeding  hogs  on  corn  alone  is 
unprofitable  with  present  prices  of  corn.  It  is  stated  that — 

The  cost  of  raising  hogs  when  fed  on  corn  alone  is  generally  estimated  at 
5  cents  a  pound,  live  weight,  when  corn  is  worth  50  cents  a  bushel,  and  7  cents 
a  pound  when  corn  is  worth  70  cents  a  bushel ;  that  is,  a  bushel  of  corn  will 
usually  make  10  pounds  of  gain,  live  weight,  when  carefully  fed  to  thrifty  hogs. 
This  agrees  with  the  results  at  experiment  stations.  But  corn  is  not  usually 
fed  with  care,  and  when  raised  on  corn  alone  hogs  are  seldom  very  thrifty; 
consequently  the  cost  will  average  much  greater  than  this.  Investigations  show 
that  7  pounds  of  gain  to  the  bushel  of  corn  is  nearer  the  result  when  corn  is 
fed  on  the  cob  without  other  food.  This  would  place  the  cost  of  live  gain  at 
10  cents  a  pound  with  70-cent  corn. 

The  best  way  to  make  hog  raising  profitable  in  the  South  is  to  graze  the  hogs 
upon  pastures  prepared  especially  for  them,  supplementing  the  green  food  by  the 
addition  of  a  small  grain  ration.  Upon  this  plan  hogs  can  be  raised  at  an 
average  cost  of  11  to  3  cents  a  pound,  depending  mainly  upon  the  management 
of  the  sows  and  pigs  and  upon  an  economic  plan  of  fattening. 

A  cropping  plan  to  supply  a  succession  of  green  crops  is  described 
in  the  circular. 


FLESHING  HORSES  FOR  MARKET.* 6 

In  a  bulletin  of  the  Illinois  Station  It.  C.  Obrecht  stares  that  “  the 
fleshing  of  horses  for  market  is  a  subject  that  has  received  but  little 
consideration  from  investigators  although  the  business  is  one  of  con¬ 
siderable  magnitude  and  importance  throughout  the  Middle  West.” 
He  names  among  the  factors  which  determine  the  profits  or  losses  of 
the  business:  “  The  market  class  and  grade  of  horses  selected;  the 
initial  cost  of  the  horses;  their  soundness;  the  cost  of  feeds;  the 
efficiency  of  the  ration  for  producing  gains;  the  methods  employed 
in  feeding;  the  length  of  time  necessary  to  feed  to  secure  the  desired 
finish ;  the  retaining  of  health  and  soundness  of  the  horses  during 
the  feeding  period,  and  the  season  when  marketed.” 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  most  practical  feeders  follow  the  plan  of 
using  the  feeds  they  can  buy  locally  and  then  resorting  to  condiments, 

°  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  Sec.  Circ.  30.* 

6  Compiled  from  Illinois  Sta.  Bui.  141. 

405 


17 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


such  as  stock  foods,  “  black  strap  ”  molasses,  a  cheap  grade  of  brown 
New  Orleans  sugar,  etc.,  for  keeping  up  the  appetite  of  their  horses, 
their  opinion  as  to  the  efficiency  and  economy  of  the  feeds  and  appe¬ 
tizers  used  being  most  generally  based  simply  upon  personal  observa¬ 
tions,  it  was  thought  desirable  to  determine  the  relative  value  for  this 
purpose  of  some  of  the  common  feeding  stuffs.  Experiments  were 
therefore  undertaken  “  to  compare  different  rations  for  fleshing  horses 
for  market,  in  which  corn,  oats,  bran,  oil  meal,  clover  hay,  and  timothy 
hay  were  used ;  and  also,  to  determine  the  influence  of  exercise  in  tak¬ 
ing  on  of  flesh  together  with  methods  of  stabling.” 

Two  experiments  were  made,  one  with  three  lots  of  G  horses  each 
and  lasting  for  84  days  (February  6  to  May  1),  the  other  with  four 
lots  of  6  horses  each  lasting  for  112  days  (October  24  to  February  13). 

[The  horses]  were  classed  as  eastern  chunks,  with  two  exceptions,  these  being 
a  little  smaller  and  lighter  boned  than  the  others,  were  classed  as  farm  chunks. 

They  ranged  in  age  from  4  to  7  years,  were  sound,  of  good  color  (7  grays,  7 
bays,  3  browns,  and  1  black),  and  apparently  in  good  health  when  they  arrived 
at  the  university  farm.  Judging  from  appearances,  they  had  a  greater  per¬ 
centage  of  Percheron  blood  than  that  of  any  other  breed,  although  there  were 
evidences  of  Shire  blood  in  some  of  them. 


The  experiments  showed  that  a  mixed  grain  ration  of  corn  and 
oats,  when  fed  with  clover  hay,  was  more  efficient  than  a  single-grain 
ration  of  corn  for  producing  large  gains  in  an  eighty- four-day  feed¬ 
ing  period.  While  the  ration  of  corn,  oats,  and  clover  hay  was  more 
expensive  with  prices  of  feeds  as  stated  than  one  of  corn  and  clover 
hay,  the  gains  are  such  as  to  make  its  use  more  economical. 

Clover  hay  was  58  per  cent  more  efficient  for  producing  gains  than 
timothy  hay. 

A  ration  of  corn,  oats,  and  timothy  proved  satisfactory  for  pro¬ 
ducing  finish  in  fleshing  horses  for  market,  but  was  materially  im¬ 


proved  by  the  addition  of  oil  meal. 

A  ration  of  one- fourth  oats  and  three- fourths  corn  proved  more 
economical  than  one  of  half  oats  and  half  corn. 

A  ration  of  corn  and  bran  fed  in  proportions  of  one  part  bran  to 
four  parts  corn  by  weight  was  superior  to  an  all -corn  ration  for  pro¬ 
ducing  gains  when  fed  in  conjunction  with  clover  hay. 

There  is  apparently  danger  of  feeding  too  much  bran  for  best  re¬ 
sults  when  clover  hay  furnishes  the  roughage  part  of  the  ration. 
The  bran  and  clover  combined  produced  a  too  laxative  condition. 

In  these  tests  the  narrower  the  nutritive  ratio  the  larger  were  the 
gains;  the  best  results  were  secured  with  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1:8. 

Exercise  had  a  retarding  etfect  upon  the  taking  on  ol  flesh,  the 
horses  receiving  no  exercise  making  24  per  cent  more  gains  than 
those  having  a  daily  walk  of  2.8  miles. 


405 


18 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


It  is  stated  that  while  box  stalls  are  safer  than  single  stalls  for 
stabling  horses,  they  are  also  more  expensive  and,  as  far  as  these  ex¬ 
periments  show,  do  not  offer  merits  not  possessed  by  single  stalls 
with  regard  to  the  taking  on  of  flesh.  The  horses  stabled  in  single 
stalls  made  16  pounds,  or  8  per  cent,  more  gains  in  eighty-four  days 
than  those  in  box  stalls. 

Professor  Obrecht  is  of  the  opinion  that  thin  horses  of  some  mar¬ 
ket  classes  will  not  return  as  large  a  profit  in  feeding  as  those  of  other 
classes.  He  states  that  the  kind  of  horses  it  will  pay  best  to  feed 
depends  partially  upon  the  season  of  the  year  when  marketed.  All 
heavy  horses  will  pay  better  than  light  horses,  and  good  and  choice 
animals  better  than  those  of  the  lower  grades. 

FERTILITY  AND  HATCHING  OF  EGGS.® 

It  is  well  known  that  hens  vary  widely  in  the  number  of  fertile 
and  hatchable  eggs  produced.  The  Maine  Station  has  been  study¬ 
ing  for  several  vears  the  causes  of  this  variation  and  the  relation 
between  fertility  and  hatching  quality.  In  a  recent  bulletin  of  that 
station,  Raymond  Pearl  and  Frank  M.  Surface  state,  as  a  result  of 
these  studies,  that  while  “  fertility  and  hatching  quality  or  ability 
of  eggs  are  two  essentially  different  things,’1  there  is  apparently  a 
small  but  still  sensible  correlation  between  the  two. 

This  means  that  in  general  or  on  the  average  the  hen  whose  eggs  run  high 
in  fertility  will  also  tend  to  show  a  high  hatching  quality  of  eggs  (percentage  of 
fertile  eggs  hatched)  and  vice  versa. 

Conditions  of  housing  have  a  marked  and  definite  influence  on  the  mean  or 
average  fertility  and  hatching  quality  of  eggs.  In  the  experiments  here  dis¬ 
cussed  it  was  found  that  both  fertility  and  hatching  quality  of  eggs  were  very 
much  better  when  the  breeding  wTas  done  in  a  “  curtain-front  ”  house,  which  fur¬ 
nished  an  abundance  of  fresh,  pure  air,  than  when  it  was  done  in  what  was 
formerly  considered  to  be  a  highly  desirable  type  of  heated  house,  without 
curtain-front  but  with  a  supposedly  adequate  system  of  indirect  venti¬ 
lation.  *  *  * 

While  there  are  great  individual  differences  among  different  females  in 
respect  to  the  fertility  of  their  eggs,  even  when  mated  to  the  same  male,  it  still 
remains  the  fact  that  this  character,  as  compared  with  hatching  quality  of  eggs, 
is  to  a  very  large  degree  influenced  by  external  circumstances.  *  *  *  The 

same  relative  degree  of  fertility  is  not  characteristic  of  the  same  bird  in  two 
successive  seasons;  nor  is  this  character  affected  by  winter  egg  production.  It 
is  not  inherited. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  hatching  quality  of  eggs  is  an  innate  constitutional 
character  just  as  much  intrinsic  as  any  other  physical  character,  such  as  shape 
of  body  or  length  of  limb.  Relatively  the  same  intensity  or  degree  of  this 
character  is  persistent  in  the  same  bird  in  successive  breeding  seasons.  It  is 
adversely  affected  by  heavy  winter  egg  production.  It  is  inherited.  *  *  * 

Any  factor  which  tends  to  reduce  or  impair  the  general  constitutional  vigor 
of  breeding  birds  in  general  tends  also  to  reduce  the  hatching  quality  of  the 


405 


°  Compiled  from  Maine  Sta.  Bui.  168. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


19 


eggs  from  these  birds.  The  relative  “  condition  ”  or  vigor  of  breeding  birds 
may  be  impaired  in  a  variety  of  ways.  For  example,  improper  feeding  mav 
bring  about  this  result.  -  -  *  High  winter  egg  production  has,  on  the 

average,  an  adverse  effect  on  the  hatching  quality  of  the  eggs  produced  by  the 
same  birds  in  the  subsequent  hatching  season.  This  again  can  probably  be 
regarded  as  the  result  of  a  reduction  of  constitutional  vigor  following  heavy 
laying.  *  *  *  Similarly  adverse  housing  conditions  most  probably  produce 
the  bad  effect  which  they  have  been  shown  *  *  *  to  have  upon  hatching 
quality  by  lowering  the  general  vital  condition  of  the  fowls. 

To  this  factor  of  constitutional  vigor  as  affecting  hatching  quality 
of  eggs  the  experiments  of  the  Maine  Station  add  another,  viz,  in¬ 
heritance  : 


Hatching  quality  of  eggs  is  in  some  measure  a  “  bred  in  the  bone  ”  character 
of  poultry,  and  must  be  reckoned  with  as  such.  *  *  *  But  if  hatching 

quality  is  inherited  it  means  that  it  is  a  character  which  can  be  improved  by 
selective  breeding.  *  *  * 

[This  emphasizes]  the  importance  in  practical  breeding  work  of  (a)  the 
selection  of  breeding  stock  with  reference  to  constitutional  vigor  or  vitality, 
(b)  the  maintenance  of  the  breeding  birds  in  a  vigorous  condition  by  proper 
methods  of  housing  and  feeding,  and  (c)  paying  attention  to  the  actual  breeding 
ability  (as  shown  by  hatching  performance)  of  the  stock  and  the  exercise  of 
selective  breeding  to  improve  this  character. 


THE  MARKETING  OF  EGGS.« 


From  a  discussion  of  this  subject  by  A.  G.  Phillips  in  a  bulletin  of 
the  Kansas  Station  the  following  facts  are  drawn : 

The  demand  for  eggs  seems  practically  unlimited,  more  especially 
for  the  better  grades.  The  growth  of  the  storage  industry  has 
tended  to  equalize  prices  by  increasing  the  demand  in  summer  when 
fresh  eggs  are  plentiful  and  supplying  the  deficiency  in  winter  when 
fresh  eggs  are  scarce.  Since  the  demand  is  greatest  for  the  best 
grades,  it  seems  obvious  that  a  little  more  attention  to  details  will 
result  in  a  profit  amply  repaying  the  extra  time  and  labor  involved. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  here  to  enter  into  any  discussion  of  the  ways 
of  increasing  the  production  of  eggs,  but  simply  to  point  out  the 
possibilities  of  profit  as  a  result  of  extra  care  in  handling  and  mar¬ 
keting  the  eggs  now  produced ;  the  extra  profit  is  to  be  made  by  ob¬ 
taining  the  top  retail  price,  and,  as  consumers  become  acquainted 
with  the  product,  by  obtaining  a  premium  of  from  1  to  5  cents  per 
dozen  over  the  regular  price  paid  for  ordinary  eggs. 

In  order  to  obtain  top  prices  for  eggs,  they  must  be  uniform  in  size, 
uniform  in  color,  and  uniform  in  quality.  The  uniformity  in  color 
is  not  always  important  and  depends  on  the  market;  uniformity  in 
size  excludes  small  eggs  and  unusually  large  ones  as  ivell;  while  uni¬ 
formity  in  quality  calls  for  absolutely  clean  eggs  that  have  been 
gathered  promptly  after  being  laid,  kept  under  the  best  possible 


405 


0  Compiled  from  Kansas  Sta.  Bui.  162. 


20 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


conditions,  and  marketed  not  more  than  three  or  four  days  after  they 
are  laid.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  only  eggs  with  firm  strong 
shells  should  be  marketed.  One  thin  shelled  egg  may  not  only  prove 
a  total  loss  but  may  also  soil  half  a  dozen  others. 

In  order  that  eggs  may  be  clean,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  clean 
nests  for  the  hens  to  lay  in.  The  eggs  should  be  gathered  at  least 
once  a  day  and  oftener  in  warm  weather.  The  eggs  should  be  kept 
in  a  clean,  dry,  cool  place.  Any  small  or  dirty  eggs  should  be  used 
at  home ;  a  dirty  egg  if  used  at  once  is  as  good  as  any,  but  it  will  not 
keep  as  well  and  will  spoil  the  sale  of  clean  eggs.  Never  put  in  an 
egg  that  is  not  known  to  be  absolutely  fresh. 

The  time  of  marketing  will  depend  on  local  conditions,  but  should 
be  as  often  as  once  a  week  at  any  time  of  the  year  and  at  least  twice 
or  three  times  a  week  in  summer.  In  cases  where  it  is  impossible  for 
a  farmer  to  take  his  eggs  himself  as  often  as  that,  he  can  arrange 
with  a  neighbor  to  take  the  eggs  on  alternate  marketing  days. 

The  methods  of  selling  the  eggs  will  depend  on  the  distance  from 
the  market,  the  number  of  eggs  to  be  disposed  of,  and  other  condi¬ 
tions  that  will  vary  in  different  places.  Where  it  can  be  done  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  sale  of  other  produce,  such  as  dairy  products,  the 
most  profit  can  usually  be  made  by  selling  direct  to  the  consumer. 
In  such  case  it  will  probably  pay  to  put  the  eggs  either  in  plain 
cartons  or  in  cartons  which  have  the  name  of  the  farm  printed  on 
them.  The  plain  cartons  can  be  bought  for  GO  cents  a  hundred, 
or  perhaps  for  less  in  large  quantities;  when  printed,  of  course,  the 
cost  would  be  greater,  but  it  would  probably  not  exceed  1  cent  each. 

If  it  is  not  feasible  to  sell  the  eggs  direct  to  private  customers,  it 
may  be  possible  to  sell  them  to  a  grocer  who  has  a  high-class  trade 
and  will  be  glad  to  get  absolutely  reliable  eggs  for  his  customers.  In 
such  a  case  it  would  be  worth  while  to  put  the  eggs  up  in  cartons, 
with  the  name  of  the  farm  on  them,  in  order  to  educate  the  customers 
to  call  for  eggs  from  that  farm.  When  a  farmer  has  a  good  many 
eggs  and  does  not  wish  to  bother  with  cartons,  he  can  often  do  well  by 
selling  his  eggs  to  a  hotel  or  restaurant. 

If  none  of  the  wavs  suggested  are  feasible,  then  the  eggs  can  be 
sold  to  dealers,  but  an  extra  price  can  be  obtained  from  them  also  as 
soon  as  they  are  convinced  that  the  eggs  furnished  them  are  abso¬ 
lutely  reliable. 

If  there  are  children  on  the  farm,  they  can  be  taught  to  care  for  the 
eggs,  and  will  take  pride  in  doing  it  well,  especially  if  they  are  given 
a  share  in  the  profits. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  it  will  take  time  to  work  up  a  demand 
for  selected  eggs,  but  when  people  are  once  convinced  that  the  eggs 
can  be  depended  on,  they  will  not  only  call  for  such  eggs,  but  will  tell 
their  friends  about  them. 


405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


21 


CEMENT  SILOS.° 


In  a  recent  bulletin  of  this  series  b  attention  was  called  to  certain 
faults  of  construction  which  extended  experience  in  the  use  of  silos 
had  revealed,  and  suggestions  were  made  as  to  how  these  faults  might 
be  corrected.  Some  reference  was  there  made  to  the  use  of  cement 
for  silo  construction.  The  use  of  cement  for  this  purpose  is  more 
recent  than  that  of  wood,  brick,  stone,  and  metal,  but  is  becoming  very 
general  and  has  already  been  sufficiently  tested  by  practical  experi¬ 
ence  to  indicate  its  merits  as  compared  with  other  structural  mate¬ 
rials,  as  well  as  the  methods  of  construction  most  likely  to  give  sat¬ 
isfactory  results. 

Three  types  of  cement  silos  are  commonly  constructed — single- 
walled,  double-walled,  and  concrete  block.  The  single-walled  and 
concrete  block  types  are  perhaps  the  more  popular  at  the  present 
time  because  more  simply  and  easily  constructed.  However,  very 
satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  with  all  three  types  when 
properly  constructed. 

In  a  recent  bulletin  of  the  Michigan  Experiment  Station,  J.  A. 
Jeffery  reports  that  there  are  many  cement  silos  in  that  State  which 
have  proven  durable  and  efficient  and  he  describes  in  detail  seven 
such  silos.  He  states  that — 


At  the  present  time  the  cement-block  silo  is  more  popular  than  the  solid- 
wall  cement  silo.  Two  reasons  may  be  assigned  for  this  fact : 

(1)  The  expense  and  labor  entailed  in  building  forms  for  a  solid  cement 
wall  are  considerably  greater  than  in  building  a  form  for  making  cement 
blocks.  When  forms  are  built  for  a  single  solid-wall  cement  silo  this  difference 
in  expense  is  magnified.  This  observation  does  not  hold  where  the  professional 
silo  builder  is  employed. 

(2)  The  work  of  constructing  the  cement-block  silo  seems  to  be  more  at¬ 
tractive  than  that  of  constructing  the  solid  wall  silo. 

He  believes  that  it  will  generally  be  found  “  that  in  the  homemade 
silo  the  block  wall  is  better  and  more  symmetrically  constructed 
than  is  the  solid  wall.'1 

Professor  Jeffrey  describes  a  solid-wall  cement  silo  in  successful 
use  in  Michigan  as  follows: 


This  silo  has  an  inside  diameter  of  14  feet  and  a  total  height  of  wall  above 
floor  of  30  feet,  including  6  feet  of  cobblestone-cement  foundation.  The  fioor 
stands  5  feet  below  ground.  The  foundation  wall  is  12  inches  thick  and 
extends  6  inches  below  the  fioor.  The  lower  12  feet  of  the  cement  wall  is  10 
inches  thick.  The  upper  12  feet  is  8  inches  thick.  *  *  * 


The  doors  of  the  silo,  four  in  number,  are  24  inches  by  36  inches.  1  h<‘>  <ue 
especially  well  made  of  two  thicknesses  of  lumber,  with  beveled  edges,  U4T  it¬ 
erator  style,  and  fit  snugly  into  equally  well-made  frames,  which  in  turn  aie 
built  into  the  walls.  The  doors  are  set  into  the  frames  from  the  inside  and 
are  held  in  place  by  the  silage. 


a  Compiled  from  Michigan  State  Bui.  2;>5. 

6  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Bui.  353,  p.  22. 

405 


22  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 

After  the  construction  of  the  walls  they  received  an  application  outside  and 
inside  of  a  rich  cement  wash.  The  inner  face  of  the  foundation  received  a  half 
coat  of  rich  cement  plaster. 

In  the  construction  of  this  silo  there  were  used : 

30  barrels  cement. 

35  cubic  yards  sand, 
cords  stone. 

1  bale  barbed  fence  wire  for  reinforcing  the  walls. 


Fig.  1. — Setting  up  the  forms  for  the  construction  of  a  single-walled  silo. 

For  forms  there  were  used : 

1,100  feet  lumber  |  inch  by  4  inches  by  16  feet. 

4  hoops  half-round  iron  with  lugs. 

30  pounds  nails. 

A  total  of  thirty-one  days  of  labor  was  expended  upon  the  construction.  It 
would  require  considerably  less  labor  for  the  same  parties  to  build  another  silo 
of  the  same  size  after  having  acquired  more  experience. 

Figure  1  gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  kind  of  forms  used  and  the  manner  of  using 
them.  The  inner  form  was  16  feet  high  and  had  to  be  moved  but  once.  The^ 
405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII.  23 

outer  form  was  4  feet  high  and  was  lifted  nearly  4  feet  each  time  it  was  moved. 
It  was  clamped  to  place  by  means  of  the  hoops  and  lugs  mentioned  above. 

Two  strands  of  barbed  wire  were  built  into  the  concrete  every  18  inches 
in  the  lower  wall,  as  the  forms  were  tilled,  and  less  frequently  as  the  building 
of  the  wall  progressed. 

The  proportion  of  cement  and  gravelly  sand  in  the  concrete  of  the  wall 
is  1  to  7. 

A  solid-walled  cement  silo  was  built  at  Michigan  Agricultural  Col¬ 
lege  in  1905. 

It  has  an  inside  diameter  of  15  feet  and  a  height  of  81  feet,  standing  about 
5  feet  in  the  ground  and  about  26  feet  above  ground.  When  well  filled,  it  holds 
about  90  tons  of  ensilage.  *  *  * 

The  wall  is  10  inches  thick  from  the  ground  to  plate. 

The  openings  for  the  doors  are  24  inches  wide  and  36  inches  high  and  are  2 
feet  apart.  Only  the  top  opening  carries  a  frame.  Each  of  the  other  openings 
carries  a  shofilder  sufficiently  deep,  molded  into  the  inner  side  of  the  wall,  to 
carry  a  door  of  1-inch  material  flush  with  the  inside  wall.  This  door,  made  of 
inch  material  (flooring  in  this  case),  held  together  by  cleats,  is  set  in  place  in 
the  doorway,  and  against  the  inner  side  is  placed,  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
the  other  silos,  a  piece  of  galvanized  sheet  iron  sufficiently  large  to  lap  2  inches 
beyond  the  doors,  thus  preventing  the  passage  of  air  through  and  about  the  door. 

In  building  that  part  of  the  wall  below  ground  a  circular  trench  14  inches 
wide  and  with  an  inside  diameter  of  15  feet  was  dug,  6  feet  deep.  The  digging  of 
such  a  trench  was  made  possible  by  the  fact  that  the  ground  here  was  all  clay. 
This  trench  was  used  as  a  form  into  which  to  build  the  below-ground  wall  with 
the  exception  indicated  below.  After  the  completion  of  the  upper  wall  the  earth 
inside  was  excavated  to  the  depth  of  the  wall,  6  feet,  and  a  cement  floor  was  laid. 

In  building  the  wall  above  ground  an  inner  and  an  outer  form  were  used,  each 
4  feet  high.  The  inner  form  was  made  in  two  sections  of  2  by  6  hemlock  nailed 
to  wooden  half  circles.  One  piece  of  2  by  6  was  loose,  to  be  removed  to  loosen  the 
form  before  lifting  and  to  bring  it  back  close  to  the  inner  surface  after  lifting. 

The  outer  form  was  made  of  4-inch  hemlock  strips  held  together,  in  part,  by  a 
28-inch  strip  of  sheet  iron  covering  a  little  more  than  the  upper  half  of  the 
inside,  and  in  part  by  two  iron  hoops  with  turn-buckles.  The  hoops  with  turn- 
buckles  performed  the  further  office  of  drawing  the  outer  form  tightly  against 
the  outer  surface  of  the  wall  after  each  lifting  of  the  form. 

The  outer  form  was  set  2  feet  down  into  the  trench  and  properly  adjusted  to 
build  the  upper  2  feet  of  the  below-ground  part  of  the  wall.  The  inner  form 
was  then  properly  set  in  place  and  the  upper  2  feet  of  the  below-ground  wall 
and  the  first  2  feet  of  the  above-ground  wall  was  set  up.  From  this  point  until 
the  wall  was  completed  the  outer  form  was  raised  about  24  inches  each  time, 
while  the  inner  form  was  raised  at  the  rate  of  about  48  inches,  i.  e.,  its  full 
width.  By  raising  the  outer  form  at  the  rate  of  24  inches  each  time  each  sec¬ 
tion  of  wall  wras  set  up  against  sheet  iron,  which  insured  a  smoother  wall  than 
could  be  had  if  set  up  against  wood. 

Wooden  forms  were  used  to  shape  the  openings  for  the  doors. 

To  reenforce  the  walls,  pieces  of  No.  9  fence  wire  wTere  built  into  the  concrete 

at  intervals  of  about  1  foot. 

In  sections  of  the  wall  betwreen  doors  these  pieces  of  wire  extended  completely 
around  the  silo  and  were  so  built  into  the  concrete. 

In  those  sections  which  were  to  contain  doors  a  4-foot  piece  of  f-inch  gas  pipe 
was  set  up  about  6  inches  out  from  where  the  door  should  be,  one  on  each  side,  and 
so  that  one  end  of  each  piece  stood  6  inches  above  and  one  end  of  each  <>  inches 

405 


24 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 

below  where  the  door  should  be.  The  ends  of  the  pipes  extending  above  the  door 
were  then  tied  together  with  a  few  twists  of  wire,  as  were  also  those  extending 
below.  To  these  pieces  of  pipe  were  tied  the  ends  of  the  pieces  of  wire  which 
were  to  be  built  into  the  walls  of  the  section,  and  so  were  built  into  place. 

The  concrete  used  in  the  construction  of  the  wall  was  made  of  mixed  sand 
and  gravel  and  a  good  Portland  cement.  The  wall  is  of  the  same  thickness 
from  ground  to  plate,  10  inches,  but  the  richness  of  the  concrete  varies. ,  The 
proportion  of  sand  and  gravel  to  cement  in  the  first  13  feet  above  ground  is  6 
to  1.  In  the  upper  13  feet  the  proportion  is  7  to  1. 


After  completion  both  the  inner  and  outer  surfaces  of  the  wall  were  “  white¬ 
washed  ”  with  a  rich  cement  wash. 

The  wall  is  surmounted  by  a  plate  made  up  of  four  thicknesses  of  g-inch 
hemlock  boards,  sawed  to  the  circle  of  the  wall  and  held  in  place  by  bolts  built 
into  the  wall. 

A  siiccessfu1  homemade  hollow-walled  cement  silo  is  thus  described : 

It  has  an  inside  diameter  of  12  feet  and  stands  36  feet  high  above  the  floor. 
The  floor  stands  4J  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  6  inches  above 
the  bottom  of  the  foundation. 

The  lower  3  feet  of  the  foundation  is  of  cobblestone  and  cement.  The  upper 
2  feet  is  of  concrete.  The  foundation  is  10i  inches  wide  at  the  top  and  broadens 
406 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


25 


inward  and  outward  to  about  17  inches  at  the  base,  the  floor  having  a  diameter 
of  only  11  feet.  The  silo  wall  above  ground  has  a  uniform  thickness  of  8 
inches  and  is  unique  in  its  construction.  Forms  are  used  in  its  construction, 
but  the  wall  is  rendered  “hollow;”  first,  by  the  use  of  forms,  and,  second,  by 
the  building  into  the  wall  of  tiers  of  No.  2  3-inch  drain  tiles.  Figure  2  repre¬ 
sents  a  horizontal  cross  section  of  the  wall.  It  shows  not  only  the  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  tile  and  other  hollow  spaces  but  also  the  outer  and  inner  forms, 
the  plan  of  the  door  frame,  and  the  manner  of  reenforcing  the  walls  with  the 
wire  cables.  The  hollow  spaces  formed  by  the  tile  and  by  the  forms  are  con¬ 
tinuous.  The  tiles  begin  6  feet  above  the  foundation,  form  spaces  lying  below 
the  tile.  The  form  spaces  are  continuous  from  foundation  to  top  of  wall. 


The  inner  form  (see  figs.  2  and  3)  was  built  of  2-incli  by  i-inch  b.\  J>  inch 
pieces  of  pine,  nailed  upon  2  circles  of  elm.  Each  of  these  ciicles  was  huilt  up 
of  2-inch  by  3-inch  pieces,  breaking  joints  with  i-inch  by  3-inch  pieces.  A  o 

these  pieces  were  cut  to  circles  of  proper  radius. 

The  outer  form  (see  figs.  2  and  3)  w'as  built  of  5-inch  by  2  inch  shee  mg 
tacked  to  perpendicular  ribs  1  inch  by  1  inch,  placed  1  foot  apuit.  Ihis  011  ^ 
is  reenforced  by  2-inch  by  4-inch  strips  nailed  outside  and  at  the  en  s  o  e 
ribs.  These  forms  were  clamped  into  place  by  means  of  tvo  i>  111C 

each  form  as  shown  in  figure  2.  .  P  .  } 

The  frame  for  a  continuous  doorway  (fig.  2)  is  made  of  2^-inc  1  y  - 
oak  bridge  timber  with  a  1-inch  by  li-inch  strip  on  the  inner  edge  against 


405 


26 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


cement,  which  strip  acts  also  as  a  shoulder  for  the  doors.  An  inch  strip  on  the 
outside  of  the  6-inch  piece  makes  the  thickness  of  the  door  frame  equal  to  the 
thickness  of  the  wall.  Crosspieces  of  the  same  21-inch  material  are  set  in  the 
frame  3  feet  apart,  center  to  center.  The  inside  width  of  the  frame  is  22 
inches.  The  frame  thus  constructed  was  set  up  so  that  the  sill  stood  1  foot 
above  the  foundation,  properly  braced,  and  so  was  built  into  place. 

For  reenforcement,  wire  cables  were  built  into  the  wall  at  intervals  of  18 
inches.  The  manner  of  stretching  the  cables  is  shown  in  figure  2.  In  the  lower 
wall,  four  No.  7  wires  were  twisted  together  for  this  purpose;  in  the  upper  wall, 
two  No.  7  or  No.  9  wires  were  twisted  together. 

Four  posts  were  set  up  at  quarters  about  the  silo.  The  opposite  posts  were 
tied  (nailed)  together  by  cross  or  tie  beams.  From  these  crossbeams  were 
suspended  the  forms  (outer  and  inner)  by  chains  or  wires. 

To  lift  a  form,  four  wire-fence  stretchers  were  wired  or  chained  to  the  cross¬ 
beams,  one  near  each  post.  Chains  fastened  to  the  form  were  clutched  by  the 
stretchers  and  drawn  tight.  The  form  was  then  unclamped  and  lifted  to  the 
proper  height  by  the  use  of  the  stretchers.  This  was  usually  done  by  placing 
a  man  or  a  boy  at  each  stretcher  and  having  all  work  in  unison.  Or  if  one 
man  did  the  lifting,  he  passed  from  stretcher  to  stretcher,  in  order,  giving  to 
each  one  or  two  strokes.  When  the  form  was  raised  to  the  proper  height,  usu¬ 
ally  24  inches,  it  was  suspended  by  chain  or  wire  to  the  crossbeams  and 
properly  clamped.  The  outer  form  should  be  clamped  first  always,  because  the 
clamping  of  the  inner  form  into  place  before  the  outer  form  was  so  clamped 
would  be  likely  to  crack  the  unseasoned  wall.  The  inner  form  supported  the 
platform  upon  which  the  men  worked. 

The  materials,  gravelly  sand  and  cement,  were  mixed  in  the  proportions  5  to 
1,  in  the  usual  way,  excepting  that  the  mixture  was,  perhaps,  wetter  than  usual. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  wall  a  1-inch  coat  of  plaster  was  applied  to  the 
inside.  This  plaster  was  made  of  sifted  sand  and  cement  in  the  proportions 
of  2  to  1.  *  *  * 

Materials  used: 

40  barrels  of  cement. 

40  cubic  yards  of  sand. 

400  pounds  of  wire. 

For  the  inner  form  there  were  used,  in  addition  to  sawed  circles,  about  95 
board  feet  1-inch  by  2-inch  material  and  75  linear  feet  1-inch  by  1-inch  strips 
for  upper  and  lower  edges  and  21  feet  of  2  by  4. 

For  the  outer  form  there  were  used  about  115  board  feet  1-inch  by  6-inch 
sheeting,  80  linear  feet  1-inch  by  2-inch  strips  and  84  linear  feet  1-inch  by 
1-inch  material  for  ribs  and  21  feet  of  2  by  4. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  had  to  be  provided  material  for  scaffolding  and 
platform  and  a  few  other  sundries. 

The  doors  are  of  1-inch  material. 

Three  types  of  cement-block  silos  which  are  giving  satisfactory 
results  are  described.  The  first  of  these  (fig.  4)  was  constructed  in 
1904. 

The  inside  diameter  of  this  silo  is  161  feet  and  the  height  of  cement-block 
wall  is  28  feet.  The  blocks  all  have  a  face  of  9  inches  by  36  inches,  but  not 
all  have  the  same  thickness  and  structure.  There  are  thirty-eight  tiers  of  blocks 
in  the  wall.  The  blocks  of  the  lower  twelve  tiers  are  hollow  and  are  10  inches 
thick.  Those  of  the  next  fourteen  tiers  are  hollow  and  are  8  inches  thick. 
Those  of  the  upper  twelve  tiers  are  solid  and  have  a  thickness  of  6  inches. 
Gravelly  sand  and  cement  in  the  proportion  of  5  to  1  were  used  in  the  construc- 
405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII.  97 

tion  of  the  blocks,  and  it  is  estimated  that  one  barrel  of  cement  will  make  six¬ 
teen  8-incb  blocks.  Seven  hundred  blocks  were  required.  The  blocks  were  laid 
in  a  rich  cement  mortar  of  2  parts  sand  to  1  of  cement. 

There  are  three  doorways,  each  three  tiers  deep  aiid  one  block  (36  inches! 
wide.  Two-inch  shoulders  were  molded  into  the  blocks  bounding  the  doorways 
at  the  time  of  making  the  blocks  and  these  shoulders  carry  doors  made  of 
double  thickness  flooring  with  building  paper  between.  The  lower  doorway 

rests  upon  the  sixth  tier  of  blocks  above  the  floor  and  each  doorway  is  separated 
from  next  (above  or  below)  by 
five  tiers  of  blocks. 

In  laying  the  upper  tier  of 
blocks,  twelve  bolts  were  set  in 
alternate  joints  to  hold  the  plate 
for  a  4-foot  wooden  superstruc¬ 
ture  and  roof. 

The  blocks  used  in  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  silo  were  home¬ 
made.  The  form  seen  in  figure  5 
is  also  homemade.  It  was  made 
of  wood  with  front  and  back 
faces  covered  with  sheet  iron. 

The  hollows  in  the  blocks  were 
made  by  using  pieces  of  wood  2 
inches  thick,  10  inches  long,  9 
inches  deep,  and  slightly  taper¬ 
ing  so  as  to  be  easily  removed 
after  molding  the  block. 

To  mold  a  block,  the  mold 
was  set  on  its  side  on  a  cement 
or  other  floor  or  plank.  The 
wooden  pieces  were  set  on  end 
on  the  floor  within  the  mold 
and  in  such  a  position  as  to 
form  the  hollows  where  they 
should  be  in  the  block.  The  wet 
mixed  material  was  then  intro¬ 
duced  about  the  wooden  pieces 
in  the  mold,  thoroughly  tamped 
and  struck  off  so  that  the  mold 
was  even  full.  The  wooden 
pieces  were  theii  removed,  the 
mold  was  carefully  loosened  and 
lifted  away  from  the  block  and 


Fia.  4. — A  successful  cement-block  silo. 


set  again.  At  the  end  of  forty-eight  hours  the  blocks  could  be  placed  in  the  wall, 
but  it  was  found  better  to  allow  them  to  stand  ten  days  before  placing  in  wall. 

To  reenforce  the  wall  a  No.  8  wire  was  laid  in  the  mortar  above  every  alter¬ 
nate  tier. 

As  soon  as  the  wall  was  constructed  the  inner  surface  received  a  |-inch  coat 
of  plaster  of  rich  cement  mortar,  sand,  and  cement  in  the  proportions  of  2  to  1. 

A  4-inch  cement  floor  was  also  put  in. 

It  is  estimated  that  with  the  style  of  portable  mold  used  in  this 
work  (fig.  5)  three  experienced  men  can  make  one  hundred  10-inch 
by  32-inch  by  8-inch  blocks  in  ten  hours. 

405 


28  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


This  silo  was  three  weeks  in  building  and  filling  was  begun  two  days  after 
its  completion.  A  few  weeks,  at  least,  should  elapse  after  the  completion  of 
such  a  silo  before  it  is  filled.  Filling  the  silo  so  soon,  resulted  in  a  crack  over 
each  doorway.  Three  old  hoops  belonging  previously  to  a  stave  silo  were  put 

about  the  silo,  as  shown  in 
figure  4,  and  the  cracks 
pointed  with  a  rich  cement 
mortar,  since  which  the 
silo  has  wrnrked  very  satis¬ 
factorily. 

A  diversity  of  views  is 
expressed  as  to  the  effect¬ 
iveness  of  the  hollow 
block  in  preventing  the 
freezing  of  the  ensilage. 
It  is  asserted  that  in  this 
silo  the  ensilage  was 
frozen  2  feet  back  from 
the  solid  6-inch  blocks  of 
the  upper  wall,  but  that 
practically  no  freezing  oc¬ 
curred  back  of  the  hollow 
Fig.  5. — Cement  blocks  and  form  used  in  making  them.  .  .  .  ,  . 

&  blocks  below. 

The  quality  of  the  ensilage  in  this  silo  is  said  to  be  very  uniform  throughout. 

A  second  block  silo  planned  and  built  by  the  owner  is  thus  de¬ 
scribed  : 


[This  silo]  has  an  inside  diameter  of  12  feet  and  a  height  of  30  feet.  In  the 
construction  of  this  silo  a  cement  foundation  18  inches  thick  was  laid  extend¬ 


ing  down  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  feet.  The  cement  floor  stands  6 
inches  above  the  base  of  the  foundation.  Upon  this  foundation  the  superstruc¬ 
ture  of  thirty-five  tiers  of  cement  blocks  is  built.  All  but  the  upper  five  tiers 
of  blocks  are  hollow  and  all  have  a  face  of  24  inches  by  81  inches.  The  blocks 
of  the  lower  tier  are  10  inches  thick.  Those  of  the  second  tier  are  9§  inches 
thick,  and  those  of  the  third  tier  are  9f  inches  thick,  and  so  on  up.  The  thick¬ 
ness  of  the  blocks  of  any  tier  is  i  inch  less  than  those  of  the  tier  next  below. 

405 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


29 


The  form  used  in  constructing  the  blocks  was  similar  to  that  used  to  make 
the  blocks  for  the  [above]  silo.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of  blocks  was 
made  for  any  tier  the  outer  edge  of  the  ends  of  the  form  were  trimmed  down 

1  of  an  inch  and  then  the  blocks  for  the  next  tier  were  made,  and  so  on.  The 
hollows  in  the  blocks  vary  from  4  inches  by  7  inches  in  the  10-inch  blocks  to 

2  inches  by  7  inches  in  the  6i-inch  blocks  of  the  thirtieth  tier. 

In  laying  up  the  blocks  the  inner  surface  of  the  wall  was  kept  perpendicular. 
When  the  wrall  was  completed  the  inner  surface  received  a  |-inch  coat  of 
rich  cement  plaster,  screened  sand  and  cement  in  the  proportion  of  3  to  1. 

Figure  6  shows  a  form  for  making  cement  blocks.  This  is  a  modification  of 
the  form  [referred  to  above]. 

There  are  four  doorways  to  the  silo,  each  23  inches  wide  and  four  tiers  of 
blocks  high  (36  inches).  The  lower  door  rests  on  the  foundation  and  all  the 
doors  are  separated  from 


each  other  by  four  tiers  of 
blocks.  There  are  no  door 
frames.  The  doors  are  very 
simply  made  of  one  thick¬ 
ness  6-inch  common  flooring, 
nailed  to  two  cleats,  and  just 
fill  the  opening.  They  rest 
against  no  jambs.  Nailed 
upon  the  inner  surface  of 
each  door  and  overlapping 
ends  and  sides  by  4  inches  is 
a  piece  of  galvanized  sheet 
iron.  Each  door  is  set  in 
place  from  the  inside  and  is 
held  from  slipping  outward 
by  the  sheet  iron.  The  pres¬ 
sure  of  the  ensilage  material 
against  the  sheet  iron  seals 
the  doorway.  The  question 
naturally  arises  concerning 
the  strength  of  this  sheet- 
iron  lining  used  in  this  way. 
After  two  seasons’  use  there 


/2‘ 


Fig.  7. — Section  of  foundation  and  floor  of  thin  solid- 

block  silo. 


does  not  appear  any  evidence  of  insufficient  strength  in  this  arrangement  of 


door. 

The  walls  were  reenforced  by  imbedding  two  strands  of  barbed  wiu  in  t  ie 
mortar  underneath  the  first  tier  of  blocks  below  each  doorway  and  in  the  mental 

over  the  tier  of  blocks  above  each  doorway.  ^ 

For  the  roof,  eight  2  by  4  rafters  were  used  and  were  given  a  -  foot  1  1,se  0 
the  center.  The  rafters  were  covered  with  sheeting,  leaving  a  scuttle  dooi 
feet  by  3  feet  and  the  sheeting  was  covered  with  a  3-incli  layer  of  cemen 
mortar.  The  rafters  were  set  upon  plates  bolted  to  the  top  of  the  w  a 

bolts  being  set  in  the  cement.  *  * 

In  constructing  this  silo,  there  were  used : 

31^  barrels  of  cement. 

26  cubic  yards  sand. 

700  feet  barbed  fence  wire. 

The  lumber  for  doors  and  roof  cost  $5. 


405 


30 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


It  is  estimated  that  with  the  methods  used  a  man  can  make  30 
blocks  per  day.  “  Two  men  can  lay  up  six  tiers  or  courses  of  blocks 

per  day.  Eight  hours  were  required 
for  two  men  to  build  the  roof.” 

A  silo  built  of  thin  solid  blocks  is 
described  as  follows: 


T 

-.'V  .  '•  ;  ;  *  '  •  * 

v.y .  Cement 

8 ' 

- 

iz:  •  .  ..... ...  ■■  v.5*. . i.  ;>.ri 

o  ft 

3^  24" 


^  ^  O  a  4  y  ^ 

Fig.  8. — Thin  solid  cement 
silo  construction. 


This  silo  has  an  inside  diameter  of  12 
feet  and  is  28  feet  high.  The  foundation 
stands  4  inches  above  ground  and  ex¬ 
tends  24  inches  below  ground.  The  upper 
12  inches  of  the  foundation  is  12  inches 
block  for  thick  and  the  lower  16  inches  widen 
symmetrically  to  24  inches  at  the  base 
(see  fig.  7).  The  blocks  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  silo  are  solid,  have  a  face  24  inches  by  8  inches,  and  have 
a  uniform  thickness  of  3  inches  (see  fig.  8).  The  blocks  are  laid  up  in  cement 
mortar,  sand  and  cement  in  the  proportions  of  2  to  1,  flush  with  the  inner  edge 
of  the  foundation.  There  is  one  continuous  doorway,  about  25  inches  wide, 
extending  from  the  first  course  of  blocks 
to  the  roof.  There  is  no  door  frame. 

The  wall  is  not  reenforced  by  wires  or 
rods  embedded  in  the  mortar  between 
courses  but  is  strengthened  by  2-inch 
band-iron  hoops  upon  the  outside  such  as 
are  sometimes  found  on  stave  silos.  The 
hoops  are  placed  four  courses,  or  about  33  inches,  apart,  and  are  drawn  firmly 
against  the  walls  by  lugs.  In  the  doorway  behind  each  of  these  hoops  is  fitted 
a  l^-inch  by  4-inch  piece  of  wood  to  prevent  yielding  of  the  boundary  wall  of 
the  doorway  when  the  hoops  are  drawn  tight.  (See  fig.  9.)  These  pieces  act 

also  as  supports  to  which 


idfoop 


Cement 


Plaster 

Fig.  9. — Section  of  silo  wall  showing 
doorway,  brace,  and  hoop. 


are  nailed  pieces  of  2  by  4 
for  frames  for  chute,  and 
for  ladder  for  reaching 
the  upper  portions  of  the 
doorway. 

The  doors,  made  in  sec¬ 
tions,  are  formed  of  two 
thicknesses  of  flooring  with 
two  thicknesses  of  tar  pa¬ 
per  between.  The  inner 
thickness  of  flooring,  which 
sets  horizontal,  laps  2 
inches  when  in  place,  as 
does  the  paper,  on  either 
side  of  the  doorway  and 
rests  against  the  inner  sur¬ 
face  of  the  wall.  The  sec¬ 
tions  are  made  to  lap  upon 
each  other  also.  (See  fig.  10.)  These  doors  are  held  in  place  by  the  pressure 
of  the  silage.  The  ends  of  the  inner  layer  of  boards  are  beveled  back  to  the  wall. 

When  the  silo  was  first  built  the  inner  surface  of  the  wall  was  not  plastered 
but  was  treated  with  an  application  of  a  preparation  (probably  water-glass) 
405 


Fig.  10. — Door  used  in  silo  shown  in  figure  9. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 


31 


which  was  recommended  as  having  the  property  of  closing  the  pores  of  the 
concrete  and  thus  rendering  it  air-tight.  It  did  not  accomplish  this  result. 
That  year  as  much  as  G  or  8  inches 
of  all  the  ensilage  next  to  the  wall 
spoiled  completely.  Before  filling 
the  silo  again  the  inner  surface  of 
the  wall  received  a  4-incli  coat  of 
rich  cement  plaster.  When  the 
plaster  had  set  it  was  given  a  coat 
of  rich  cement  wash.  Since  that 
time  there  has  been  no  poor  silage. 

Proportions  of  materials  used : 

For  the  foundation,  1  part  cement 
to  7  of  gravelly  sand. 

For  the  blocks,  1  part  cement  to 
5  of  gravelly  sand. 

Floor,  made  wet,  1  part  cement 
to  5  of  gravelly  sand. 

Mortar  for  laying  wall  and  plas¬ 
tering,  1  of  cement  to  2  of  screened 
sand. 

Wash,  cement  and  water. 

Roof : 

The  roof  consists  essentially  of 
eight  rafters  set  at  low  pitch,  cov¬ 
ered  with  sheeting  (flooring  in  this 
case)  and  the  sheeting  in  turn 
covered  with  rubberoid.  A  section 
of  the  roof  is  removable  and  through 
this  doorway  the  ensiling  material 
is  introduced. 

This  silo  was  built  by  contract  for 
$176  complete.  It  has  been  in  use 
five  years. 

A  cast-iron  form  was  used  in 
making  the  blocks.  Such  a  form 
can  now  be  purchased  on  the  mar¬ 
ket  and  will  cost  something  like  $15. 


Fig.  11. — Silo  built  of  thin  cement  blocks  with 

iron  hoops. 


Another  silo  of  this  type  (see  fig.  11)  is  12  feet 
and  is  34  feet  high,  extending  4  feet  below  ground. 


inside  diameter 


Fig.  12. — Section  of  silo  wall  showing  doorway 
and  brace  and  frame  of  steel  and  hoop. 


The  244-inch  continuous  doorway 
has  a  frame  of  3-incli  by  3-incli  by 
i3s  angle  iron.  (See  fig.  !-•) 
Braces  of  \  by  14-incli  iron  are 
bolted  to  the  opposite  angles  and 
at  intervals  of  33  inches  fall  undei 
the  hoops.  This  frame  is  set  to 
receive  in  the  angles  of  the  fiame 


the  inner  corners  of  the  blocks  bounding  the  doorway  and  gi'cs  1°  Ihc 
wav  both  strength  amt  durability.  The  plaster  applied  on  the  compietion  o 
the  wall  is  reduced  in  thickness,  next  the  doorway,  to  that  of  the  angle  non. 


405 


32  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVII. 

This  silo  is  covered  by  a  shingle  roof.  The  blocks  for  the  silo  were 
made  by  the  builder  himself  but  he  hired  the  labor  to  build  them  into 
the  wall.  He  estimates  that  the  silo  complete  cost  him  about  $150. 

The  materials  used  in  building  foundation  and  walls  were: 

15  barrels  of  cement. 

14  loads  of  gravelly  sand. 

The  steel  door  frame,  cost  $12. 

11  hoops,  cost  $18. 

11  doors,  cost  $11. 

Professor  Jeffery  states  that  two  objections  are  heard  against  this 
type  of  silo : 

(1)  The  walls  are  so  thin  (3i  inches  complete)  that  the  silage  must  freeze 
badly.  To  this  the  owners  with  whom  we  have  talked  say,  “  It  is  not  true. 
The  freezing  is  not  more  severe  than  in  a  stave  silo.” 

(2)  The  walls  are  not  thick  enough  to  be  sufficiently  strong  to  endure  the 
strain  to  which  they  are  subjected. 


Fig.  13. — Section  of  silo  foundation  with  floor  at  surface  of  ground. 


An  examination  of  25  or  more  silos  of  this  type  showed  no  evidence 
of  weakness  or  failure. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  solid  wall  and  block  silos  of  the  same  ca¬ 
pacity  require  about  the  same  amount  of  material.  For  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  any  of  these  silos  there  would  be  required  :  3  barrels  of  cement, 
3  cubic  yards  of  sand  and  gravel. 

Figure  13  gives  a  general  idea  of  how  such  a  foundation  should  be 
built.  The  doors  and  roofs  should  not  differ  materially  for  the  same 
style. 

Professor  Jeffery  calls  attention  to  the  fact  .that  u  the  quality  of 
the  ensilage  will  depend  in  no  small  degree  upon  the  care  and  thor¬ 
oughness  with  which  the  materials  are  introduced  into  the  silo  at  the 
time  of  filling,”  and  especially  emphasizes  the  necessity  for  careful 
packing.  “  Careful  distribution  of  material  and  persistent  tramping 
are  necessary  to  proper  success.” 


[A  list  giving  the  titles  of  all  Farmers’  Bulletins  available  for  distribution 
will  be  sent  free  upon  application  to  any  Member  of  Congress  or  the  Secretary 
of  Agriculture.] 

405 


o 


